[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6650990,"mediaKeyId","2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a","parentId",2501507,"title","Cherokee County commissioners work through conditions for veterinary memorial garden variance appeal","audioSeconds",2046,"startMs",1367000,"endMs",3413310,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a&start=1367&end=3413","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a/thumbnail_1367000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6650990/Cherokee-County/Georgia/Cherokee-County-commissioners-work-through-conditions-for-veterinary-memorial-garden-variance-appeal","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6650990-f8f0bbf8f9daf0b474d327abed27c172/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155385&Signature=Kgd2droyuFw24LutoPLLD2et1X~Dor2aUklppa93i-eXfj1rCFpkNwxMLDMICp0w3c6OFq5DTXAU6eZKq7-AOwsV-Ab5nWaL4-SG8u4zfLW-~Q1XtnLRaOck2IzgXj9bkL1OR1fbR73zRv0RCvUjf1TcYphJPjJNpsCD~ZGILsl3iGSgZ5ak3yXwahSvL1E1VDky7vb-2~w1niDVoI-1BX9hp9Zr~xOYzhQapYLduXtecjvOLiEnCWkUhH8AHN3r4aOvwPwmb2YKL~FryvGxxcJcbbiAsdIb7sCcXW3iSOBoZL9PHLYcSYBXvUTeFvZp27eJXGEG0-2FFjUaJS9L3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cherokee ","date","2025-03-04T15:03:00Z","article","Cherokee County commissioners on March 4 discussed detailed conditions for an appeal of Zoning Board of Appeals variances requested for a veterinary property proposed for memorial gardens and an animal crematory.

Planning staff summarized the case: the applicant sought seven variances related to buffer widths, streetscape and tree requirements along Highway 92 and setbacks adjacent to residentially zoned property. \"This case was an appeal of variances by the Zoning Board of Appeals,\" staff member Thomas Trawick told the board, summarizing the board's December 12 decision. He said the Zoning Board denied some requests and approved others with conditions, and the applicant appealed the denials.

Under current ordinance, a 50-foot buffer is required where light-industrial zoning abuts residential zoning. The applicant proposed to retain a 50-foot rear buffer in the area adjoining a neighbor but requested the side buffers be reduced to 10 feet to allow parking and landscaping. The applicant also asked for a break in the Highway 92 overlay fence to allow a sign, and for adjustments to the required number of overstory street trees.

Commissioners and staff explored a compromise approach: allow 10-foot buffers on the east and west sides where existing conditions or buildings make the reduction necessary, while protecting the 50-foot rear buffer that abuts residential property. Several commissioners said they would accept a 10-foot buffer on the city-facing side because an existing nonconforming building already sits close to that property line.

The principal neighbor concern, commissioners said, was activity directly adjacent to homes and use of an existing block storage structure that sits within the rear 50-foot buffer. Commissioners discussed two alternatives: allow the existing shed to remain but restrict its use, or require the shed be left in place only if it is removed and the area replanted. The applicant's representative told the board that moving the existing block shed would likely damage it and be costly; the representative proposed leaving the structure in place but limiting access by the public.

As a compromise, staff and a majority of commissioners proposed allowing a \"landscape-only\" area (described in the draft as a southwestern portion of the lot behind the parking area) where a modest storage building could be permitted outside the strict 50-foot rear buffer. The parties discussed limiting any new storage structure to no greater than 200 square feet (the county threshold cited for residential permit requirements) and limiting access to non-vehicular, staff-only use for garden maintenance. Commissioners also discussed prohibiting expansion of the gravel parking area to protect the buffer.

Staff drafted a list of conditions (labeled A through G in the stipulation draft) that would govern approval if the board adopted the requested variances. Items discussed in the work session that staff said could be incorporated into the stipulations included: no animal burials on the property and no scattering of ash remains; rear parking to be staff-only; maintaining a 50-foot undisturbed rear buffer except for limited, defined access to a block accessory structure if the board permits it; a requirement to install frontage fencing and landscaping substantially similar to the submitted elevation; a minimum number of overstory trees along Highway 92 per the landscaping plan; and replanting obligations if structures in the buffer are removed.

Applicant's representative told the commission the preferred outcome would be to keep the current block structure and have staff-only access, or alternatively to permit a similarly sized storage structure in the landscape-only area. \"Moving [the structure] would, I think, in the contractor's mind, damage the integrity of it,\" the applicant said, adding that the contractor had found the building constructed of block. The applicant said a slightly larger, improved storage area in the designated landscape-only zone would be workable.

The transcript records no final decision or roll-call vote on the variances. Staff told the board they would prepare revised stipulations for the board's consideration and formal vote at a later point. The transcript shows commissioners and the applicant negotiating specific language (for example, a staff-only access restriction and a 200-square-foot size limit for any permitted storage structure) intended to carry forward with the variances if the board approves them.

Why it matters: The dispute centers on how industrial or quasi-industrial uses abutting residential neighborhoods should be buffered and managed. Commissioners sought to balance the applicant's operational needs with neighbors' concerns about proximity and future nonresidential uses. No final vote appears in the provided transcript; staff said they would return with refined condition language for a formal vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Cherokee - Board of Commissioners Work Session - Mar 04, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Cherokee County commissioners on March 4 negotiated conditions tied to an appeal of Zoning Board of Appeals denials for variances requested by a veterinary property proposing memorial gardens and an animal crematory.","taxTitle","Cherokee County, Georgia","taxId",12793,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6650995,"Cherokee County presents Safe Streets and Roads for All plan, seeks Vision Zero adoption",1299,18145,1317310,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a&start=18&end=1317","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a/thumbnail_18145.jpg","/articles/6650995/Cherokee-County/Georgia/Cherokee-County-presents-Safe-Streets-and-Roads-for-All-plan-seeks-Vision-Zero-adoption","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6650995-8b71ac30838af26ae78fd18417bc00c2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155385&Signature=SnE28X5fgKvye~3dyBDwofmKHAQmbheLWr1YBw4xNuWLjvlTek93BDbhzQMwCV74-dUrR2fFHN3YJIAKahAhcgD15g71UQFMxcqk6OwRMJAjE79fGsTwb5xL-DWNH51dCmEIRbeEDEJE3AFreoB9INQf9W7LPgO0d8y53b2O5bIcNbLI0wzPezMst-~RX8dQV7e7qYeuoXi5hbrqeA2t5zJ3D0ssW9sN5FEZY6~JB3bjun~8NThmis~8dXqCBboq1BHlsal9jaewy2~T82F8YZHcqza6keuAaBR2F8YHVFLjmV2q936KGPdTy54xrDb2jis5LxJdqu3eP9ffkf8Abg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Cherokee County officials and their consultant on March 4 presented a completed Safe Streets and Roads for All safety action plan and asked the Board of Commissioners to adopt the plan and a countywide \"Vision 0\" policy committing the county to reduced traffic deaths and serious injuries.

The plan, prepared with Pond and Company under a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, inventories crash risk countywide, ranks about 15–17 high-priority corridors and intersections, and groups recommended infrastructure projects into short-, medium- and long-term programs. County Community Development Director Brantley Day told commissioners the county and four cities secured a $450,000 USDOT grant (about 80% federal funding) with a 20% local match funded by the county and participating cities according to SPLOST shares.

The study found 87 roadway fatalities in Cherokee County from 2018 through 2022, a figure Day highlighted as driving the county's focus on implementation. \"We have been talking about it a long time,\" Day said in introducing the presentation. Pond and Company consultant Kat Onor said the plan uses a safe-systems approach, which treats deaths and serious injuries as unacceptable and emphasizes design changes, redundancy, and policy and program actions in addition to enforcement and education.

Onor summarized public engagement and key takeaways: three stakeholder committee meetings that drew roughly 50 participants, two public meetings, online surveys and pop-up events at farmers markets and libraries. Recurrent community concerns included speeding and aggressive driving, requests for better pedestrian and bicycle facilities, intersection upgrades and public education. The consultant recommended short-term measures that are relatively low-cost — improved lighting, striping, and signal timing changes such as leading pedestrian intervals — as well as longer-term corridor retrofits and coordination with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) on state routes.

The presentation included a recommended leadership commitment: a 15-year Vision 0 timeframe aligned with peer communities. Onor said the county's proposed target year for the Vision 0 goal is February 2040, a benchmark she described as an internal planning horizon to track progress rather than a guaranteed outcome. \"Vision 0 means we are committing to a goal of 0 traffic deaths and serious injuries in Cherokee County,\" she said.

County staff told commissioners the adoption of the plan and the Vision 0 policy are on the manager's list of items for the business meeting and that the draft plan will be transmitted to the Federal Highway Administration for finalization. Staff said adopting the plan also makes the county eligible for future Safe Streets for All grant programs, subject to changes at the federal level. Day and Onor emphasized that infrastructure work will require multi-jurisdiction coordination: \"State routes are included in this study because no matter where you go in the county, Cherokee County soil is under that road,\" Day said, noting some projects would require GDOT coordination.

Discussion among commissioners focused on implementation, possible grant opportunities and the political landscape around federal funding. Onor said the Safe Streets and Roads for All program grew out of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and noted the program has emphasized equity; she added that, while specific federal grant programs may change, transportation and safety funding generally remain available. Commissioners asked about near-term costs and integration with the County's Comprehensive Transportation Plan and SPLOST-funded projects; staff said they will break the recommended projects into implementable pieces and show how many can be advanced within existing programs.

The transcript shows the resolutions to adopt the Cherokee County Municipalities Comprehensive Safety Action Plan and the Vision 0 policy were placed on the county agenda for consideration but records no board vote on either resolution during the provided excerpt.

The county's next steps described in the presentation include forming a Vision 0 task force (a standing stakeholder committee), coordinating final adoption among the county and participating municipalities, transmitting the plan materials to federal authorities and mapping recommended projects to existing project lists and funding opportunities.

Why it matters: The plan both documents the county's recent crash history and lays out a sequence of engineering, policy and program actions that staff say could be integrated with ongoing projects and grant applications. Adoption would signal an official county commitment to a long-term target and make the county eligible for federal safety funding contingent on program availability.

No formal vote is recorded in the transcript. Commissioners signaled intent to return to the items during the business meeting portion of the agenda for formal consideration.","County staff and consultant presented a federally funded safety action plan identifying near-term and longer-term roadway projects, programmatic changes and a 15-year Vision Zero goal. The board was asked to adopt the plan and a Vision 0 policy; no final vote appears in the transcript.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6650985,"Board reviews Mac Development rezoning request for Union Hill Road; planning commission recommended denial",61,3614595,3675630,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a&start=3614&end=3675","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2501507-df361e6320e3b36c515e9044a45df69a/thumbnail_3614595.jpg","/articles/6650985/Cherokee-County/Georgia/Board-reviews-Mac-Development-rezoning-request-for-Union-Hill-Road-planning-commission-recommended-denial","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6650985-d7dedcaf4b098b9c54756a88e3d3be2b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155385&Signature=WBDMZGIQp3vLe86b1FTkGna-iWCPFdlcP9lzqmRKuIO4jkTis5nZvPFZJ~F3Gge9FHgyce6w9XrwceMLOWdjXOwSXoJUXbTmLUmePNhrH5AKn~2HqSru-r6m9mPkJeV7dOqYYtUHH5BvdOFQtf9NAbFmolf6xZgbWscy2qmA-Wq0l5Zydye6lG7ABifYKvLTCKc25K7yS3QEZe3C3qNmm~I~2urZCv7rMUVYa8krwFd0BEU~k079U81RmB06Qhl8RvYgI~zxwv8xX3kyR8-nOZiT5~I4WvL1iH4JGpg5YLLb266QVez~GxKRuPvEhdqkYBQisizZNKVyVSDEnrWorA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on March 4 reviewed a rezoning request from Mac Development for 7.45 acres at 7658 Union Hill Road, adjacent to Avery Elementary School, and discussed the applicant's offer of use and development stipulations.

Planning staff explained the application history: the applicant initially sought a Neighborhood Commercial (NC) designation with concurrent variances but, following Planning Commission review, revised the request to Office-Institutional (O&I) with stipulations and no concurrent variances. The Planning Commission recommended denial by a 5–4 vote. \"The applicant is now requesting office institutional with stipulations and no concurrent variances,\" staff said.

Proffered stipulations submitted by the applicant and summarized by staff included: prohibition of a list of uses normally allowed under O&I (the applicant tied prohibitions to NAICS codes), limiting vehicular access to a single entrance onto Union Hill Road, limiting the development to 2 to 5 buildings with a total not to exceed 50,000 aggregate finished square feet, architectural and material standards for buildings, vegetative landscape strips along street frontages, a four-rail wooden perimeter fence, a 30-foot buffer adjacent to Avery Elementary School, prohibition of interparcel access with the school property, limits on hours of operation, monument-style signage requirements, underground utilities and parking that complies with county standards. Staff said the applicant also proposed separate external entrances for all suites.

Commissioners discussed the land-use implications for the intersection, with at least one commissioner expressing concern that nonresidential approval at this corner could create pressure for similar nonresidential uses on the other three corners. A commissioner who said residential uses would be preferable argued medium-density residential could provide reasonable economic use for the property while protecting the intersection from broader nonresidential conversion; that commissioner acknowledged being in the minority on the board.

Another commissioner noted that commercial development does not always catalyze immediate spread and that any future applications for adjacent corners would be evaluated on their own merits. Staff noted the property is in a county character area identified as \"country/state's character area\" and that surrounding parcels remain agricultural or residential in zoning.

The transcript records no final board vote on the rezoning in the provided excerpt. A commissioner said he would be prepared to make a motion at the meeting, indicating this item was expected to return for a formal vote during the public meeting portion of the agenda.

Why it matters: Rezoning a rural parcel at a signalized or important intersection can affect traffic, school adjacency, neighborhood character and future development patterns. The applicant proffered a substantial list of restrictions intended to limit impacts if O&I zoning is approved; the Planning Commission recommended denial and the Board's final action was not recorded in the provided transcript.","An applicant requested rezoning of 7.45 acres on Union Hill Road to Office-Institutional with detailed use stipulations. Planning staff summarized the applicant's proffered conditions and the Planning Commission's 5–4 denial; commissioners debated commercial spread vs. residential alternatives and no final vote is recorded in the transcript.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Cherokee County commissioners work through conditions for veterinary memorial garden variance appeal

Cherokee County presents Safe Streets and Roads for All plan, seeks Vision Zero adoption

Board reviews Mac Development rezoning request for Union Hill Road; planning commission recommended denial